Liverpool driver has wild ride downhill

October 10, 2013

EAST LIVERPOOL - A man was taken to East Liverpool City Hospital after his vehicle's brakes failed on a steep portion of St. Clair Avenue causing it to careen down the hill out of control and crash at about 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Police said the car's brakes apparently failed as the late 1990s Oldsmobile Eighty Eight neared Orchard Grove Avenue. The vehicle proceeded to gain speed as it rolled down the hill through the intersection of McKinnon and St. Clair, narrowly missing construction crews working nearby.

One of the construction workers said the driver was forced to swerve onto the sidewalk and travel through a narrow space between the Youth Fire Ministry building and a telephone pole in order to avoid hitting the crew. The worker said the space was so narrow both of the vehicle's side mirrors were torn off.

The car continued downhill on St. Clair and somewhere near Franklin Street lost control, became airborne, rolled onto its roof and skidded down the hill for a considerable distance, police said. The vehicle struck a utility pole, then came to rest on its roof near Jackman Street.

Police said it is possible the vehicle struck the concrete abutment of Ray Street causing it to go airborne and flip.